No Reservations Is Not Just a TV Show, It's a Book!

When I got the assignment to write this blog, I considered myself a big fan of Anthony Bourdain. I loved Kitchen Confidential when it first came out, watched him on TV on Cook's Tour and Top Chef, read his funny missives on Michael Ruhlman's blog, and I have eaten at Les Halles numerous times, even though he hasn't cooked there in years. But now that I have delved deeper into the No Reservations universe, I realize how much I have left to know, how many shows there are to watch, books to read, podcasts to download, forums to peruse, fan-sites to check out, articles to track down... Truth be told, I am a mere novice in this world, just skimming the surface of Bourdainalia that's out there. He's had quite a career, and it's essentially a second, third!, career at that.

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I think my best No Reservations–related find so far has to be the companion book, titledNo Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, published last year. It's the series encapsulated on paper, with some lovely snapshots—most taken by the crew—many from behind the scenes; I dig the collection of photos called "food porn," and the section on toilets is especially funny. (For the record, Tony and the crew concluded that the world's best bathroom award goes to Japan. And the worst? Uzbekistan wins that one.)

Traveling professionally looks like seriously hard work. I always thought a job like that would be amazing, one of those dream job things. (Well, people say the same thing to me when I tell them I am a food writer.) But even Bourdain realizes that when it's your obligation to trek through the insect-infested jungles of Borneo or sleep in a sub-freezing igloo in Iceland, it's not always as fun as it's cracked up to be. The book is informative yet personal, and makes the whole enterprise (and the people that make it) seem even more approachable.

I'd love to find out what your favorite Bourdain book (or show or website, whatever) might be. I'll admit that I haven't read his novels; anyone care to offer a review?

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